The second episode of Citadel Season 2, “Cold Plunge,” begins in Sweden, where Abby quietly sets up a meeting at Gladarenar for the morning. She’s worried about running into Hendrix and asks for help getting out unseen so she can see her daughter in secret.
But Joanna intercepts the message and soon knows where they are. She quickly sends Manticore operatives to Sweden with the instructions to kill Mason and Abby.
Mason wakes up and discovers Abby has left. He reaches the meeting place. Soon Abby finds out that the person she has been talking to is Carter. He tries to tell him important things about Mason and Abby’s real past, but before he can say much he is suddenly shot.
A few moments later, Manticore agents stormed the supermarket. Carter hands Abby a set of car keys, telling her to hide. Kyle throws a grenade, which goes off, killing one operative, but another agent continues to chase Abby. Mason arrives and saves the day when it looks like she is stuck. He does manage to wound one of the attackers but the injured operative still manages to abduct Abby and escape.
Mason is determined to rescue her and heads home to prepare for the chase, but Nadia intercepts him. Furious at the years he stole from her and Asha, furious at the revelation he was the mole, she demands answers. Mason admits he never knew Dahlia was a part of Manticore and he was driven by revenge as Citadel was responsible for his father’s death.
Nadia warns him to keep away from her and Asha, implying that they might never meet again.
Meanwhile, in France, Hutch gives Orlick a forged passport and they prepare to board a train for Italy.
At the same time, Braga is more concerned about the damage to his house than he is about Orlick’s disappearance. He learns Hutch was a former CIA operative and sends Charlotte to find McCaffery.
Joanna tells Braga about a mysterious Korean hacker who might be the one to fix the mind control software. Braga throws every resource he can at finding him, but the hacker has become almost impossible to trace and the hunt for Orlick goes on.
Elsewhere, Nadia is in an ice bath in the hotel bathroom, devastated by Mason’s betrayal. Asha tries to comfort her, remembering how her grandfather always believed in her. But Nadia, weary of betrayal, says they trust no one.
Orlick and Hutch locate Alessandro, a journalist for Reuters, in Italy. Orlick attempts persuasion but Hutch is more direct, making it clear the story will run one way or the other.
Back in France, Joanna reviews surveillance footage from Gladarenar and finds out that Mason has been desperately trying to keep Abby from discovering her true identity.
In England, Mason breaks into the home of his mother, Dahlia, who was believed to be dead, and asks her for help locating Abby.
We learn that Abby is being held in the same facility that Orlick was held in, in France. She visits Joanna and points out a scar on the back of her neck, something Abby thinks is from a car accident. Joanna calls her another name, Celeste.
Back in England, Dahlia decrypts the phone Mason recovered and learns of Braga’s involvement. She attempts to persuade Mason that he has no other real allies, citing that Mason has enemies on all sides.
She also reveals a devastating truth: Orlick was allegedly the man who authorized the drone strike that killed Mason’s father.
Elsewhere, Nadia reads reports of Orlick’s plane crash, decodes a hidden message, and knows exactly where to find him.
At the end of the episode, Orlick buys three burner phones and calls Joe, telling her to stay in hiding and take care of the girls. He insists he is still trying to keep them safe, as he always has.
Review of Episode
“Cold Plunge” further explores the emotional damage these characters still carry, expanding the larger conspiracy.
The episode reveals more about Braga’s long-term ambitions and Manticore’s worldwide plans. Orlick is not under arrest, but Braga is still intent on finishing his mind-control project, this time on the Korean hacker.
But the story also continues to explore the personal cost of espionage. Orlick had sacrificed so much as Nadia, for the sake of survival, and Nadia had lost precious years with her daughter.
Mason’s case is even more complicated. He’s not sure who to trust anymore. Not even who he is. His choice to work with Dahlia again may yet turn out to be one of his most dangerous.
Then there’s Abby, now outed as possibly Celeste. To discover that the man she loves has not only kept her past a secret but may have wiped her identity altogether adds a tragic emotional dimension to her story.
Now with Abby in Braga and Joanna in her grasp, she is so much more than a hostage. She could be the key to bringing Mason down.